May 3, 2020 Board Meeting

MINUTES OF A MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE BLACKWATER LAKE ASSOC.

May 3, 2020

A meeting of the board of directors of the Blackwater Lake Association (“the BLA”) was held via video conference and hosted by Carolyn Dindorf on the above date. Lloyd Thielmann, Carolyn Dindorf, Linda Burns, Dodi Sletten, Barbie Laughlin, Becky Seemann, Tim Marr, Shannon Klundt, and Scott Agre were present at the meeting.  A full quorum was present at the meeting.

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 9:05 a.m. by Board Chairman, Lloyd Thielmann.

Approval of Agenda

Lloyd distributed the agenda prior to the meeting which, upon motion duly made and seconded, was unanimously approved.

Approval of Prior Minutes

The minutes of the October 6th, 2019 BOD’s meeting minutes were distributed by Dodi Sletten previously via email and approved by the board prior to this meeting. The minutes were posted to the website by webmaster Travis Skalicky. The board made a motion which was seconded and the meeting minutes were unanimously approved as submitted.

Treasurer’s Report

Linda provided an email to the board prior to the meeting with both the detail and summary of the budget as of May 3, 2020. She also reported the current membership is 137.

The beginning balance in the general account was $5,657.11. Income was $7,068.00 with expenses of $9,547.56 bringing the balance to $3,177.55. The expenditures included a transfer of $5,097.83 to the Lake Protection Fund account.

The balance in the Lake Protection Fund account is $5,060.53. Linda reported the account is being charged service fees monthly. She will check with the bank to learn why this account is being charged fees.

The combined total of both accounts is $8,238.08.

After review by the board which, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Treasurer’s report was approved unanimously.

 New Business

  1. Seedlings Give Away: Pat McKee has organized the seedling distribution to take place May 8th-10th at her lake home. Pat sent an email on May1st with instructions for distribution/pickup noting that all of the seedlings will be in buckets and asked that members bring a pail or trash bag in which to carry them home. Lloyd and Pat worked to adjust for any shortfalls in the orders.
  2. Beaver Control: Lloyd reported that the water is flowing very well, the culvert is open, and that he’s not noticed any beaver activity. The trapper has seen some indication that activity may be starting and will continue to monitor.
  3. Annual Meeting: After a discussion including postponement or holding a virtual meeting, the board recommended and approved the annual meeting be canceled due to the concerns centered on COVID-19. Lloyd will check the bylaws to see if anything needs to be done when an annual meeting is canceled. Dodi will ask Travis Skalicky to post a cancellation note on our website. During this discussion, the board recognized that a number of members sign up and pay annual dues at the annual meeting and that membership fees could lag along with additional donations intended for protection of our lake. The silent auction will not take place which is also a significant source of income for protecting our lake. After the board’s discussion to possibly provide a self-addressed envelope with the Blurb, it was determined this would be cost prohibitive. The membership form will include a request for additional donations to compensate for the loss of income generated at the annual meeting.  The board recommended and agreed that Lloyd highlight in his chairman’s update the need for members to send in their dues and encourage giving additional donations.
  4. 4th of July Parade: The board recommended we hold the 4th of July parade as planned.  Lloyd will talk to Cindy to coordinate and also ask her input on voting ideas so that social distancing can be maintained without having to exchange paper between boats.
  5. Blackwater Blurb: Prior to the meeting, Becky emailed a draft of the articles that were being proposed for the Blurb and let the board know that the deadline is May 9th for all articles. The final copy will need to go to Judy Leeds by May 15th to allow Judy time to complete the graphic design work. The following articles will be included:
  • Recycling refresher-Becky/Lloyd
  • Chairman’s update-Lloyd
  • Cancellation of the Annual meeting and Cabin Coffee-Lloyd/Becky
  • Staying safe 2020-Lloyd/Becky
  • 4th of July Parade-Lloyd/Becky
  • Water protection update-Carolyn
  • A request to go paperless with the Blurb-Becky/Lloyd
  • Wise Old Owls of Northern Minnesota article-Becky
  • Membership and Treasurer’s reports-Linda
  • 2019-2020 Membership Donors-Linda
  • Membership Form-Becky
  • BOD and Committees-Lloyd
  • Thank you – Mule Lake store-Becky
  • Mailing page and upcoming dates- Becky
  1. Cabin Coffee: The board recommended and agreed to cancel cabin coffee until 2021.
  2. DNR Walleye Stocking: Lloyd reported that the DNR did not do Walleye stripping this year and could affect our restocking.
  3. BOD Elections: The following board and officer positions are up for election in 2020. Lloyd Thielmann-Chairman, Carolyn Dindorf-Vice Chairman, Linda Burns-Treasurer,  Barbie Laughlin-Director, and Scott Agre-Director at Large. All have agreed to rerun for their positions. The approval for the nominated board of directors is done at the annual meeting and with the cancellation of the annual meeting, the board discussed options on how that vote could take place. Tim Marr recommended we add an extension of a year to each of the current directors and officer’s board serve time and publish this plan in the Blurb. The board approved this approach.
  4. ACCL Meetings: Lloyd has not heard how these meetings will be held but will inform the board when this is known.
  5. COVID-19 Assistance: Lloyd recommended the board offer assistance to our neighbors and others that might need help during this time. Carolyn suggested using this venue to ask for volunteers who could be matched up with those who might need assistance. Lloyd and Becky will write a message in the Blurb letting our members know to reach out and to ask for volunteers to help should the need occur.

New Business

  1. Boat Regulations: Carolyn reported having a discussion with a state representative who informed her of a new bill in the legislature that would restrict wake boats to within several hundred feet from shore. The bill was introduced to prevent damage and erosion to shorelines.
  2. Buoy update: This was revisited as it was an open topic from October’s meeting. The question of who would be responsible for the placement of buoys (Norman’s bay) will be followed up by Lloyd.

 Next Board Meetings and Annual Meeting 

The BLA Annual meeting for 2020 which was scheduled to be held on July 18th was cancelled. The Board of Directors meetings for 2020 will be held on June 28th, and September 27th.

Adjournment

There being no further business to come before the Board, and upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned by unanimous approval at 10:22 a.m.

Dated as of the date first written above.

____________________________________

Dodi Sletten, Secretary

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